


Part of Her World

by orphan_account



Category: Moana (2016), The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:56:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9215612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After swimming too close to the shore and getting hurt, Ariel is rescued by a human girl named Moana. A girl who helps Ariel realize she's been right about how wonderful the shore up above is all along.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It only took me about five minutes of looking through the Moariel tag on tumblr to fall head over heels in love with this ship. IT'S SO GOOD, you guys! And it makes so much sense! I love Ariel and I love Moana so, I mean, obviously I had to write something.
> 
> The basic premise was inspired by this post:
> 
> https://queenbean03.tumblr.com/post/154132066963/ive-seen-headcanons-about-ariel-rescuing-moana

The sun was just beginning to lower towards the line that met the sea when Ariel found herself almost locking eyes with one of the most dangerous creatures her father had ever spoken of.

 _"Barbarians!"_ she could practically hear his voice in her ears. _"Monsters!"_

She'd done this plenty of times before, knowing exactly how to stray out of their exact line of sight, and for the millionth time she thought about how they weren't as bad as the horrible stories she'd been told by everyone under the sea after all.

Their voices were light and full of different things; sometimes they were tired, sometimes they sounded amused, sometimes frustrated or even angry at their findings.

She'd always found the human world interesting; the warm sand, the bright blue sky, the sun burning from it. Books, fire, clothes- Ariel knew so many things.

And yet possibly the most interesting of all so far was something she'd discovered since admiring these certain humans with her own eyes: they weren't so different from the merpeople she was used to under water after all. That observation only made the yearning in her heart grow.

She picked up bits and pieces of them each time she visited. Over time a name even grew familiar to her: Chief Tui. They spoke of him often.

Not even her father's daily reminding of how evil the shore was, how horrible the humans were, how terrible and murderous and awful and bad bad _bad_ they were- could keep her away from the shore. The human's voices and warmth from the sun stuck around in her thoughts much more than his lectures ever would.

Still, it took a little longer for her to get so brave as to make an actual move.

She'd always had a thought in the back of her head, _this is wrong what you are doing is_ wrong _and you're going to get in so much trouble_ but Ariel was stubborn and determined and her curiosity and wonder would always outweigh those thoughts too.

So she decided on a day where she'd been forced to listen to more yelling than usual (her father had discovered a necklace she'd taken back home with her after one of the humans dropped it into the water) she was finally going to do something.

She watched, for what felt like the _gazillionth_ time, as the people began to load up a pile of fish into a contraption that looked something like a holding chamber (she later learned this thing was simply called a _net_ and humans did not, in fact, have a fancy name for every object that existed above the water). 

Just like always she naively thought, _the fish get to visit with the humans, why can't I?_  

The fish appeared to flop around excitedly while the humans placed them aside in a boat (she knew the name of this, this _boat,_ it was in one of her picture books and her father had warned her about it plenty of times on his own accord). 

There was only a moment of hesitation before Ariel dipped back under the water, swimming forward a bit so she would be closer to them. She stared above, their faces blurry while more fish swarmed around her.

She wasn't exactly sure what she planned to do, just something, _anything,_ maybe try and speak to them and let the humans see her the way she saw them-

Only any half thought out plan she'd gotten in her mind was pushed away when she felt something tightening around her.

Ariel looked down in mild surprise until she noticed the thing she'd thought of as a holding chamber rising from underneath her, a few of the fish around her landing in it in the process.

Any earlier thoughts vanished as she began to panic at the possibility of the unknown and she struggled to get free from whatever this thing was, only it was too late. Her tail was stuck and her thoughts were jumbled and there was nothing she could do as she felt herself slowly being lifted up.

In her haste she began pulling, tugging, anything to get out of the constricting area. She could feel the material cutting into her skin, it was too tight, she was much bigger than a pile of fish were- _and she was also much stronger,_ the realization dawned on her.

With that one calm thought Ariel found herself almost out of the net, until suddenly something hard hit her head and her vision blurred, everything around her looking just like it had when she'd been peering from the water to the shore.

She didn't pass out immediately-she could still feel herself being lifted and even as she was brought all the way up and a flurry of amazed voices tried to break through her puzzled thoughts she stayed awake-until however many moments passed and she could barely make out a girl's hushed voice saying, _"Don't tell father."_

In her brief confused haze Ariel thought, _yes, please, don't tell my father._

Then the sky above turned dark and her eyes closed.

*******

When Ariel first woke up again she thought she was dreaming. She could feel her tail in the water but her chest and face felt the sun she loved all too much burning down on her.

She struggled to open her eyes, and once she could see clearly she still thought _this has to be a dream-_ the ocean water had risen up almost like a cocoon wrapped around her tail, like the water itself was alive, cradling her lower half in its hold to make sure she was alright. Her upper half, however, was laid back on the very edge of the shore's sand.

"Oh!" It took her another moment to realize the voice she heard was real and she wasn't dreaming after all. "She's awake. Okay, think fast, _think fast._ "

While Ariel struggled to move, still dazed, the voice continued, "I am Moana of Motunui. I have rescued you from- no, _no._ Not that. I am Moana of Motunui, and um, I- no!"

It occured to Ariel the mysterious voice must not have realized she could hear her.

The feeling throughout her body starting to come back to her, she moved a bit more firmly and the water wrapped around her suddenly moved, almost sheepishly ( _but that's silly,_ she thought, _water doesn't have emotions!_ ), allowing her to lower herself back into the water fully.

She turned, finally able to get a look at whoever the voice was coming from- and found herself at a loss for words when their eyes met. It was a girl, a _human_ girl, and Ariel ogled at her almost in the way she admired the human treasures she brought back to her trove (only this was different and it would take a little longer for her to realize what that difference was).

The girl looked just as stunned to be looking at her full on. Neither of them moved, neither of them said anything, until the girl took a deep breath and tried again, "I am Moana of-"

Before she could finish Ariel had already dived back under the water. Her heart was racing and her mind felt almost as fuzzy as it had when the net trapped her earlier. She quickly realized maybe her head still _was_ feeling funny from the incident and maybe she shouldn't move so carelessly.

Not wanting the human girl to run off, she slowly lifted her head back above the water, just enough to where the top of her head down to her eyes could be seen.

"You shouldn't do that!" the girl said, hurrying over to the edge of the water, her worry (it _looked_ like worry on her face) taking over any hesitation. "You were hit pretty hard! Your head might still be hurt."

"It does," Ariel finally found her voice. She lifted her head higher from the water. "What... what happened?"

She listened intently while the girl explained to her the people from her village had accidentally captured her in their net, but it wasn't that she was listening to what she was saying so much as taking in the sound of her voice. A feeling much more powerful than the dizziness from her hit rose inside her and she didn't care to try and make it go away.

The girl stopped talking and waited for a response. When she didn't get one, she almost started to look a bit offended, so Ariel came up with something else to ask.

"Where are the others? The other humans?" And when she actually asked that something else distracted her from her prior feeling; something almost close to fear. Something she'd never felt towards the humans before, something her father had tried to drill into her so relentlessly and now... now she thought of her panic and the tight net and the pounding in her head.

The girl moved closer, and Ariel resisted the small urge to back away.

"They're back at the village," her voice was soft and calming and Ariel found herself moving forward in the water instead of away without another thought. "It's just me here. I've been looking after you for some time now. I thought maybe you'd... well, I thought-" She stopped there and continued on with something else.

"You slept the whole time. So I watched after you to make sure nothing else would happen. Well, me and the ocean, of course."

She smiled at the water and Ariel considered the possibility, maybe she'd hit her head too.

"You and the ocean?"

"Yes. Sometimes when it seemed like you were on shore for too long the ocean would bring you back under. Only for a little while though, and never too far. I think it helped."

She looked proud of herself and Ariel felt like she was being rude, not showing as much gratitude as she felt towards her rescuer. She pushed for a smile on her face despite the throbbing in her head and she felt like she was almost going to be knocked backwards into the water when the girl smiled back.

It was a beautiful sight. Just like the bright blue sky. Just like the warm sun.

She swam even closer then, close enough to where she and the girl could even grab hands. She lifted her hand, almost like she was going to do just that, until she noticed something wrapped around her arm and she frowned.

"The net cut you," the girl admitted, chewing on her lip. "I bandaged it right up, though. It's not too bad. Not as bad as your head, at least. Do you mind if I look at it?"

Ariel didn't even hesitate, her bravery beginning to grow as her confusion subsided. She turned around and laid her head back in the sand, a simple action but something she'd wanted to do so badly for so long.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt firm but gentle hands touch the side of her head where she'd been hit, unwrapping what Ariel guessed must have been another bandage. 

She stayed quiet and didn't question what the human girl was doing, enjoying the moment for what it was before it was over. She could feel something being rubbed onto her head, something sticky, and her face must have screwed up at the feeling because the girl explained, "It's medicine. My grandmother gave it to me. It'll help you."

Ariel didn't even question the word _medicine_ and merely hummed in response. She kept her eyes closed but paid close attention to the girl's hands as they carefully wrapped a new, clean bandage around her head.

For a brief moment it almost felt like the girl was running her fingers through her hair afterwards but then the moment was over and Ariel turned back around to face her.

"Thank you," she finally said, meaning it with all of her heart.

"You don't need to thank me. It was our net that hurt you in the first place."

This time Ariel did grab her hand in hers, surprising the girl while insisting, "You saved me. What's your name?"

"I am-"

"Moana," Ariel suddenly remembered, nodding quickly. "Moana. That sounds like music."

Moana looked like she didn't know what to say next until she decided on, "What about your name?"

"Ariel."

They both smiled at each other again and it was so wonderful Ariel almost couldn't stand it. The waves from the sea were lightly pushing against her while the sun continued to beam down and a pretty human girl was looking at her like she was a treasure all on her own and it was more perfect than she could have ever imagined it to be.

Ariel couldn't help what she said next, the words blurting out without any consideration. "You're not a monster," she said in amazement, any silly fear from earlier long forgotten about. "I knew it, I always knew it! You're not a monster at all."

" _Uhm..._ thank you?" Moana looked half confused, half amused, a small laugh escaping from her lips and Ariel thought again, _just like music._

She didn't want the moment to end, but it did. Her father's face appeared in her mind and her smile fell, a grimace taking its place. She would have to go home soon.

"What's wrong?" Moana noticed as soon as it happened. "Does your head still hurt?" The hand not holding hers leaned forward to feel her bandage.

Ariel shook her head no and it only took a second for Moana to seemingly read her mind.

She pulled both hands away, standing up straight. "Like I said, you did hit your head kind of hard. I-I mean, _really_ hard." Her voice had an air of authority and firmness to it with an edge of unsureness that almost made Ariel giggle. "And I think you should continue to stay here, under my watch, until you are completely healed."

Ariel didn't object, her father's image fading away almost as quick as it had come.

******

"What does this thing do?"

"It doesn't do anything. It's a type of fruit. You just eat it."

" _Amazing._ "

Ariel gazed at the round shaped object she was holding-a _fruit_ -and began to roll it around in her hands nonchalantly. "Can I have it?"

"To eat?" Moana asked from a mouthful of her own fruit. "Well, yeah. That's why I brought it here."

"No, silly, not to eat! To keep in my collection."

Moana shot her a bizarre look but there was a hint of affection to it (the type of look Ariel noticed Moana giving her more and more every day).

Before she could even question what collection she was talking about Ariel began to ask more questions of her own, like _how can you hold the sand but not the water, how come the sun doesn't always stay up in the sky, where do all those fish go the villagers take?_

She'd opened up much more since their first day of officially meeting. Once any and all confusion or second guessing had left her, Ariel couldn't ask enough.

She was finally able to know all about the humans, finally able to actually speak to a human, one who seemed to enjoy her company, one who cared for her and laughed at her jokes (sometimes when she wasn't even joking!) and liked her enough to stay by her side for as long as she could while she healed.

But this was different. Much different from the other humans she'd been secretly watching for what felt like so long. Watching them was like feeling the sand. It was like staring up at the sun. Moana, herself, _was_ the sun. She was much more than just a shiny treasure to stare at in awe. She was everything Ariel had always wanted and even more than that, she was what Ariel had never known she _needed._

It didn't take long for Ariel to know, with everything in her, she loved Moana. She loved Moana not in the way she loved the human world and how fascinating it was, but for how Moana talked and acted and looked and just every little thing about her. She felt as strongly about it as she did towards her thoughts on the human world above the shore.

"Do you have a collection of fruits back home?" Moana suddenly asked, pushing the subject. She had set her own fruit aside to pick out one of the flowers sitting in her basket she'd brought with her.

Ariel wasn't shy by any means (something she was sure Moana had learned after all the time they'd spent together now) but she felt like it in that moment. She hadn't told her how much her father hated humans. How he would probably strike Moana with his trident right then if he rose above the water and saw them with one another.

"Well, _no,_ " she rolled her eyes, biting her lip nervously. "Just a collection of... human things. I think it's interesting."

"That's cute."

Moana's voice was casual and Ariel knew she needed to tell her.

"It's not back home. The collection, I mean. I couldn't bring anything from the shore back home. It's somewhere hidden."

"Hidden? What for?" She obviously didn't notice the seriousness in what Ariel was saying, but she apparently could sense her sudden nerves, because she took the flower and stuck it behind Ariel's ear, playing with her hair in the process to calm her.

Physical contact had become something almost like second nature to them over their time spent together, so easy and natural, and it only made Ariel want to tell her more.

She sighed, staring down at her fins in the water instead of Moana's face. "My father hates humans. He thinks they're... well, evil. He's always trying to tell me how bad all of you are, my whole life he's tried to make me think the same way he does!"

There was a slight look of surprise on Moana's face and she looked like she wanted to say something but Ariel continued. "But I'll never be like him. He's wrong and I know it. The human world is wonderful, magical even! Just look at _you._ "

Instead of any doubt or confusion or even angered hurt on Moana's face, like Ariel had been worried of in the farthest parts of her mind, as soon as she finished Moana looked calm. Understanding, even. Like she knew how all of that felt.

"My father hates the water," Moana said after a few beats of silence. She didn't have to say anything else.

Silence fell on them again, only this time it was much more comforting. Ariel watched the water ripple while Moana continued to play with her hair and neither of them said anything else until Moana began to speak again, more to herself than to Ariel it seemed.

"I've always known the water was calling to me," she murmured. "It brought you to me, I think."

Even if she wanted to say anything Ariel wouldn't have been able to. Moana's lips were pressing against hers, hard at first, and any coherent thoughts were gone like a flash. The kiss softened and Ariel knew right then just exactly what the sun truly felt like.

They didn't say anything else again after. The light from the sky lowered and Moana stood, announcing her leave.

"I have to leave too," Ariel said, like she was just realizing it herself as soon as she said it.

Moana hesitated, a brief flash of hurt on her face before she forced a smile. She leaned down nearby the water so she could get a good look at her. "I guess I knew you'd have to soon enough," she admitted. "Your head isn't hurt anymore."

Grabbing her hands in hers, like she'd done on the first day they'd met, Ariel tried her best to sound just as firm as Moana occasionally did.

"But I'm coming back," she insisted. "I promise."

It looked like Moana believed her, and maybe she thought Ariel just meant she would swim back to the shore to occasionally visit. But she had another idea and she wasn't going to let anything stop her.

She turned and dove into the water, not looking at Moana as she did (Ariel might not have been able to actually leave if she would have- besides, she was coming back, she knew it). Her thoughts were only briefly occupied by what her father would say if he saw her, how many questions he would ask on what had happened and where she'd been for so long. But she was not going back home and she wasn't going to see him.

Ariel swam on, the name of a certain sea witch lingering in the back of her mind.


End file.
